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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Turns out David Tyree was saving up for one game. One really, really big game.

Little more than a special teams player all season, Tyree became an All-Pro in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

First, he shook loose over the middle to catch a 5-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning that put the New York Giants ahead. Then Tyree topped himself, making a tumbling, circus grab to set up a last-second score and a 17-14 stunner last night over the mighty New England Patriots.

“I don’t know that there’s ever been a bigger play in the Super Bowl than that play,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

Pretty neat trick for a guy who started the season with a broken wrist and finished with more tackles than catches. And someone who overcame adversity, too — Tyree’s mother died of a heart attack in mid-December.

“I think every receiver has to believe he’s the best guy out there,” Tyree said.

He wound up as a most unlikely go-to guy. And for years to come, Giants fans surely will talk about the most improbable of catches.

“That play alone took a few years off my life,” New York defensive end Michael Strahan said.

The Giants trailed 14-10 with only 1:15 left when Manning faced a third-and-5 at his own 44. The Patriots brought pressure, and Manning somehow shook loose from two defenders.

Scrambling to his right, he made a desperate, dangerous toss deep down the middle, where defensive backs Rodney Harrison and Asante Samuel were lurking. Tyree jumped up and with Harrison on his back managed to get both hands on the ball.

Harrison fought him the whole way, slapping at the ball and momentarily pinning it to Tyree’s helmet. That gave Tyree a chance to get a better grip, and as he fell backward, he had the presence to hold the ball aloft to show it was his.

“I just wouldn’t let go,” he said. “They were trying to say they had the ball. They snatched it.”

The 32-yard gain to the New England 24 seemed to startle Harrison and his teammates, while the Giants jumped up and down on the sideline. Samuel may have said it best, that Tyree made a heck of a play.

“Rodney was right there,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said.

“That ball was challenged,” Coughlin said.

“I was so amped up after that catch,” Giants receiver Steve Smith added.

The Giants quickly called a timeout with 59 seconds remaining, and four plays later Manning hit Burress for the winner.

But it was that crazy play by a fifth-year receiver from Syracuse that really thrilled Manning.

“David Tyree, that’s all you have to say,” Manning said. “It was just a great catch by David Tyree. I found a way to get loose and just really threw it up. He made an unbelievable catch and saved the game.”

Earlier, Tyree pulled in a bullet pass from Manning that put the Giants ahead 10-7 with 11:05 left in the fourth quarter.

Tyree finished with three catches for 43 yards and one touchdown against a team that was trying to complete a perfect run. He had totaled five catches, 40 yards and zero touchdowns all season.

In fact, Tyree did not catch a single pass until December. Until then, his biggest value came on special teams with 10 tackles.

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